Guwahati: Assam NRC co-ordinator Prateek Hajela on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that till now they have identified 1.3 crore people of the state as original inhabitants.

"The bench of Ranjan Gogoi and R.F. Nariman questioned Hajela on the issue of original inhabitant for half an hour. Hajela told the court that so far they have identified 1.3 crore people as original inhabitants," said Aabhijeet Sharma, president of Assam Public Works, the NGO which has been fighting a case on NRC update in the court.

The court on Wednesday heard 32 petitions filed seeking definition of original inhabitant but has reserved its order on the issue. Hajela told the court that of the 3.29 crore applications, 2 crore applications have been verified.

The 1951 NRC is being updated in Assam with an aim to weed out illegal migrants because influx has been a huge concern for several decades.